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Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015

KEY FACTS Joined Commonwealth: 1957 Population: 25,905,000 (2013) GDP p.c. growth: 3.2% p.a. 1990–2013 GNI p.c.: US$1,760 (2013) UN HDI 2014: World ranking 138 Life expectancy: 61 years (2013) Under-five mortality rate (per 1,000 live births): 78 (2013) Largest contribution to mortality: Infectious and parasitic diseases Government health expenditure: 3% of GDP (2012) General information The Republic of Ghana, formerly the Gold Coast, is a West African country lying on the Gulf of Guinea. It is surrounded (clockwise, from the west) by Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Togo. Ghana has ten regions: Greater Accra, Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta and 174 Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015 Western. After Greater Accra, Ashanti is the most populated region; Upper West, the least. Climate: Tropical; warm and fairly dry in northern areas, hot and humid on the coastal belt. Temperatures usually range between 21°C and 32°C. Annual rainfall varies from 700 mm to 2,150 mm. In 2007 large parts of West Africa were the subject of severe flooding. Ghana was the worst hit with more than 300,000 of its people made homeless. Environment: The most significant environmental issues are deforestation, overgrazing and soil erosion; drought in the north; poaching and habitat destruction threatening wildlife populations; and water pollution and inadequate supplies of drinking water. Population: 25,905,000 (2013); 53 per cent of people live in urban areas and 18 per cent in urban agglomerations of more than a million people. The population growth rate stood at 2.5 per cent p.a. between the years of 1990 and 2013. In 2013 the birth rate was 31 per 1,000 people (47 in 1970) and life expectancy was 61 years (49 in 1970). The population is made up predominantly of African groups: Akan (45 per cent in 2000 census), Mole-Dagbani (15 per cent), Ewe (12 per cent), Ga-Adangbe (seven per cent), Guan (four per cent), Gurma (four per cent) and Grusi (three per cent). There are very small minorities of other races. Economy: Ghana is classified as a lower-middle-income economy by the World Bank. Health Child and maternal health: The rate of infant mortality in Ghana was 52 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2013, with an under-five mortality rate of 78 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2013. There has been a consistent decline in the under-five mortality rate since 1990. Despite this decline, the under-five mortality rate has not yet reached the country’s target of 43 deaths per 1,000 live births, as defined by Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG 4). In 2012 the three most prominent causes of death for children below the age of five years were malaria (19 per cent), acute respiratory infections (13 per cent) and prematurity (14 per cent). Other significant contributory causes were intrapartum-related complications (13 per cent), neonatal sepsis (eight per cent), congenital anomalies (seven per cent) and diarrhoea (seven per cent). In 2013 Ghana had an adjusted maternal mortality ratio of 380 deaths per 100,000 live births. Burden of disease: Communicable diseases along with maternal, perinatal and nutritional conditions in Ghana accounted for an estimated 51 per cent of all mortality in 2012. The prevalence of HIV in Ghana, as a percentage of population aged 15–49 years, stood at 1.3 per cent in 2012. Over the period 1990–2012 there was an overall rise in HIV levels, which peaked in the early 2000s. Ghana


Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015
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